Humpback Whales in Tonga 2013 | Part 2

Quick update: I’m back on land, after spending a couple of weeks aboard Bella Principessa, a beautiful catamaran that belongs to my friends Julian and Ildi. Eric and Pam flew over to join us, and we got to know Willo and Emma, the wonderful crew aboard Bella.

 

S/Y Bella Principessa
S/Y Bella Principessa

 

The eight of us had grand intentions to cruise the islands, possibly even visiting other island groups in Tonga, but two things dampened our ambitions, one literally, one quite the opposite.

First…rain. In the past 22 days, it’s rained for at least part of 12 days, while it’s only been unambigiously sunny on a handful.

 

raindrops on port window of Bella Principessa
Raindrops on one of the port windows of Bella Principessa

 

 

Captain Willo, S/Y Bella Principessa
Poor Willo, out in the rain

 

Second, the yacht’s water-maker broke, which meant we were on a short leash, unable to travel too far or too long away from a source of fresh water. Bummer.

 

Empty water tanks, S/Y Bella Principessa
Rain, rain everywhere, but no water in our tanks

 

We made the best of the circumstances though, and took the opportunity to relax.

We hung around a lot:

 

Julian Cohen reading in hammock aboard Bella Principessa
Julian getting comfortable

 

 

Pam Cheng in hammock aboard Bella Principessa
Pam trying not to fall out

 

Read and talked:

 

Julian and Ildi Cohen aboard Bella Principessa
Julian and Ildi having a laugh

 

Snorkelled from time to time:

 

Bella Principessa dinghy
Coming back from a snorkel on a sunny day

 

Some of us acted (not) our age:

 

Julian Cohen, Bella Principessa
Julian making me look mature by comparison

 

…and we cooked and ate a lot of amazing food:

 

Emma cooking aboard Bella Principessa
Emma whipping up another fantastic meal

 

 

Julian Cohen cooking aboard Bella Principessa
Julian getting in Emma’s way

 

I have more friends flying in tomorrow, so it’s a mad dash today to unpack and reorganise before they come in. Assuming all goes well, I’ll be out on the water again on Friday looking for humpback whales.

 

S/Y Bella Principessa
Having a wonderful time aboard S/Y Bella Principessa

 

 

sunset, mounu island resort, Vava’u
Beautiful sunset to wrap up a day of adventure at sea

Related Posts:

Humpback Whales in Tonga 2013 | Part 1

Humpback Whales in Tonga 2013 | Part 3

Humpback Whales in Tonga 2013 | Part 4

Humpback Whales in Tonga 2013 | Part 5